Blue Apron stock sunk to an all-time low on Monday, plummeting to prices of $6.45 a share. The sudden decline comes amidst Amazon’s entry into the meal-kit delivery marketplace, with the e-commerce giant having only recently filed its first trademark in the industry.

Following a highly anticipated IPO, which priced initial shares at $10 each, Blue Apron stock has progressively declined, particularly in the wake of Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, which stirred fears that it would soon be outcompeted.

The meal-kit delivery service, which delivers prepared ingredients ready to be assembled directly to customer’s doorsteps, has seen its stock decline by nearly 30 percent since its initial offering. The company’s regular net losses since 2014, as recorded in annual filings, have done little to help its case to investors.

Tech investor Dave McClure, 51, co-founder of investment firm 500 Startups, today admitted regrets for his behavior toward women in the tech industry, an issue which has gained considerable prominence over the past few years. “I’m a creep. I’m sorry,” said McClure.

According to CNN Money, McClure’s contrition came on the heels of Shark Tank star and venture capitalist Chris Sacca’s admission that he had contributed to the sexist culture in tech. Sacca, 42, an early investor in Uber and Twitter, companies which themselves have suffered from accusations of supporting sexism, also expressed regrets for his past behavior.

“By stupidly perpetuating a culture rife with busting chops, teasing and peer pressure to go out drinking, I made some women feel self-conscious, anxious and fear they might not be taken seriously.”

http://www.inquisitr.com/4341416/tech-investor-dave-mcclure-on-behavior-toward-women-in-tech-im-a-creep-im-sorry/feed/0Guard Llama: All About The Emergency Response App From ‘Shark Tank’ Including Special Discountshttp://www.inquisitr.com/4143862/guard-llama-all-about-the-emergency-response-app-from-shark-tank-including-special-discounts/
http://www.inquisitr.com/4143862/guard-llama-all-about-the-emergency-response-app-from-shark-tank-including-special-discounts/#respondFri, 14 Apr 2017 13:40:06 +0000http://www.inquisitr.com/?p=4143862

Guard Llama has a simple concept — making it easier for people to call 911 during an emergency.

Now the show Shark Tank is giving the Washington, D.C.-based start-up a giant boost after its founders had a chance to pitch their product to the show’s panel of investors.

The founders of Guard Llama have already risen up through a competitive field, impressing judges at a Shark Tank casting call in Washington last year, the Washington Business Journal reported. The company’s co-founders, Joe Parisi and Nick Nevarez, met last year at a conference for start-ups. Parisi had created the product, and Nevaraz joined as an advisor and then became a co-founder.

While last night’s Southern Charm was perhaps meant as a coming-out party for Landon’s business, Roam-Guide (now renamed without that pesky hyphen) instead, it was an introduction for a company, Yotme, that Southern Charm star Shep Rose has decided to invest in. But what is Yotme and how can Shep fans get in on it?

FLASH Robotics is an innovative startup technology company that is dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of consumer robotics. On February 28, 2017, they launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their EMYS Robot, which is programmed to teach children how to speak two different languages. Their ultimate goal is to reach $100,000.

Indiegogo is a crowdsourcing website that celebrates creative ideas. In February of 2017, they partnered with JS Shoes to launch a campaign aimed at raising funds to bring the first-ever 3D “knitted shoes” to the world. These shoes are very lightweight, eco-friendly, and let feet breathe in a way that restrictive sneakers and boots do not. JS Shoes has also patented a lauded “3D knitting technology” that eliminates wasted material and enables users to order custom-made sizes.

A knitted show by JS Shoes. [Image by Kelli Dobbins/Productivity PR]

The biggest inspirations behind 3D knitted shoes are generally attributed to two aspects: the desire for breathable and lightweight footwear and the need to cut down on material waste and labor costs.

Lumosity, the “brain training” program by Lumos Labs, has landed the company in hot water after the FTC determined that they were participating in false advertising. According to a report from CBC, the FTC said that Lumosity “preyed on consumers’ fears” in claiming that playing their games a few times a week could improve work and school performance, and even delay conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

If you’ve been online or watched television in the past few years, you’ve probably seen some of Lumosity‘s ubiquitous ads yourself. They claim to help players “learn faster,” be sharper,” “remember things,” and “relieve stress.” They claim to bring “better brain health.” And they claim to be “the web’s #1 brain training program.” They even claimed to increase things like physical reaction time, enlisting three-time Ultimate Fighting Championship champion George St-Pierre in a campaign which suggested that “no matter how fast your opponent throws,” users could “dodge their punches with Lumosity.”

Ride-hailing app Lyft has always lived in the shadows of the unarguably more popular Uber, and now it looks like the company is looking for buyers, albeit unsuccessfully. Reportedly, Lyft approached Apple, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft, sources told The New York Times on conditions of anonymity because buyout discussions are generally a private matter. Another source told The New York Times that it was the companies that actually approached Lyft, not the other way round. Furthermore, a source told Recode that Lyft is asking for as much as $9 billion and as a result failing to secure any serious interest from potential buyers.

Nope, not the colorful adhesive ones you played with as a child. These are akin to the large, cartoonish characters you may have received on Facebook Messenger at some point. You would think there’s not much to stickers, but one Japanese company is making a killing off of them.

Japanese messaging app Line has reported earnings of over $20 million a month from the sale of stickers, reports TechCrunch. They are usually sold in sets of 12 to 18 and go for a couple of dollars per set.

The tech startup Yotpo has signaled its ambitions for expansion by recruiting a high-ranking executive from GoDaddy, the World’s largest domain name registrar. Miguel Lopez, who spent five years as Vice President of Customer Care at GoDaddy has now been installed as Yopot’s Vice President of Client Services.

Yotpo is looking to grow its client base and recruited a figurehead with proven experience managing and building large-scale service teams. “Yotpo is an innovative company and a leader in the marketing space,” said Lopez, “I’m ready to lead the charge for them to provide A class service to their user base and find the best ways to help Yotpo clients maximize the power of their user-generated content.” Tomer Tagrin, Yotpo CEO, said, “As growth continues to accelerate, we are extremely focused on building the people infrastructure for scale.”

]]>http://www.inquisitr.com/2799222/venture-capital-startup-yotpo-hires-former-godaddy-executive-to-lead-upscale-expansion/feed/0Printer Creates Famous Art Only In 3D — New Masterpieces Made So The Blind Can Experience Them [Video]http://www.inquisitr.com/2681968/printer-creates-famous-art-only-in-3d-new-masterpieces-made-so-the-blind-can-experience-them-video/
http://www.inquisitr.com/2681968/printer-creates-famous-art-only-in-3d-new-masterpieces-made-so-the-blind-can-experience-them-video/#respondTue, 05 Jan 2016 07:13:10 +0000http://www.inquisitr.com/?p=2681968

If one were to ask the general art community what type of art all paintings would fall under, most will surely say visual art. If one were to follow up with said community asking if visual art would also appeal to the medically blind, most would give a look similar to a deer staring at headlights. To be fair, most people — not just those in the art community — would not relate visual art to those who cannot see. Today however, that is no longer the case.

Many artists these days are incorporating texture into their masterpieces. As a result, art enthusiasts can appreciate art through feeling it besides just seeing it. As a matter of fact, it is through feeling art that John Bramblitt is able to create his masterpieces… because he is blind himself.

Think too many marriages end up in divorce to say “I do?” Not everyone has given up on an everlasting marriage.

One startup company is willing to say “I do” in a huge way to couples about to take their vows by giving loans of up to $10,000 to put toward the wedding of their dreams. The catch? If they don’t get a divorce, the couples won’t have to pay back the loans.

The startup company, SwanLuv, believes “everlasting marriage should be rewarded.” According to UPI, the Seattle company will reward the couples with a free loan if they stay married to each other, but if the couples divorce, they must pay back the loan with full interest.

This type of loan is sort of like gambling on a marriage, but the company is sure it will see some numbers of divorce after so long to make some sort of a profit.

From college life to house parties, there’s a Kickstarter out now for smart beer mugs. According to Tech Times, this is not your standard mug, and it is called ePint. This is a reactive drinking vessel known to light-up depending on the mood of the party or a game day celebration.

ePint, as reported by Kickstarter, has a campaign with over 130 backers with a goal of $50,000. The mugs can also connect to the internet for when the mugs detect you’ve had too much beer. In fact, it can be set up so that it may call a cab in case you’re too inebriated to drive. Also, according to Tech Times, the idea was implemented by Xtreme Tech, LLC. for the needs of the avid party goer.

Pretty neat beer mug – it’s hollow and filled with a liquid that freezes, so you stick it in the freezer, and then when you use it it keeps your beer cold. [Photo by Karl Baron/Flickr – License]

“The ePint is a smart, internet-connected beer mug that can covers your drinking party needs.”

Peeple CEO Julia Cordray had already started a storm on social media with the announcement of the Peeple app, which will allow people to leave reviews of each other in public, in a similar way as Yelp does for businesses. The storm got much worse when it turned out that Peeple was having trouble moderating their own Facebook page, and in fact, Julia wasn’t quite so keen on people leaving public feedback, after all.

The Peeple CEO has removed the offending post, according to the Register, who also raise the concern that if Peeple aren’t even able to keep on top of a Facebook page facing some controversial comments, one has to be concerned for any Peeple users who face similar attacks through their proposed system.

The software giant Hubspot has been on a structural and financial roller coaster the past few weeks. Currently, they are experiencing a high with their recent Q2 earnings report. Investors are rejoicing due to their quarterly revenue exceeding expectations, which is music to any shareholder’s ears.

Not only is this great news for the wallets of many, but Hubspot’s revenue growth is a perfect shift from the recent events of executive misconduct that has been overshadowing any Hubspot financial news.

Hubspot is still reeling off of the news about their CMO, Mike Volpe, and the nefarious events surrounding the acquisition of an ex-employee’s manuscript.

“I’m not proud of the way our CMO transition played out, but I am proud of the transparent culture of HubSpot that brought the matter to light.”

Whether you want to make money online for your dream vacation or additional expenses, you’ll learn that it’s very easy to find internet-based jobs these days. Of course, you have to weed out the good from the bad. That’s why this article will give you eight of the best ways to make money online and eight of the worst ways, so you can avoid them in your travels.

According to a recent report via the Huffington Post, some of the eight best ways to make money online is finding freelance work at one of the following places.

Elance.com or Freelancer.com

Craigslist

Referrals on Facebook

Fiverr.com or PeoplePerHour.com

Of course, you will need to be some sort of expert if you choose to become a freelancer. If you’re not a skilled writer or web developer, then you can make money online by doing one of the following.

Apple’s Chief Executive, Tim Cook, has “showered” one startup with his support: an environmentally friendly shower head that he personally invested in after trying the product just once. Thanks to his support, the company, Nebia, has seen exponential growth, and Apple has personally installed the shower heads in their corporate campus in Cupertino, California.

Tim Cook’s Surprising Investment

Critics of the investment are calling it “strange” and “surprising,” simply because a big-time CEO like Cook has invested in such a small company. Nebia is a San Francisco-based company run by just six people. Their product is a shower head that ironically resembles the classic look and shape of an iMac.

One would expect Queen Elizabeth or members of her royal court to have homes equipped with personal elevators. Well, this is 2015, and oddly enough, anyone can own anything. For elderly folks harboring pains that prevent stair climbing, or for lazy tarts simply wanting to feel the luxury that comes with owning “comfort technology,” there’s finally a solution: the Lifestyle Home Elevator, complete with glass door and Dr. Spock.

Reuters attached Star Trek connotations to the home elevators produced by Terry Lift, a small U.K.-based company that spent decades refining the design and usability of the lift. Located in Cheshire, the company started producing these personal elevators which resemble a telephone booth gone wrong after realizing success with their commercial products. Founder Eric Terry founded the company in 1948, but it’s today’s forward-thinking mindset that has allowed the personalization of elevators to come into residences from London to Beijing.

]]>http://www.inquisitr.com/2327671/personal-elevators-in-homes-yeah-the-uk-has-that/feed/0Make Money Online: The Best And Worst Ways To Work From Homehttp://www.inquisitr.com/2320929/make-money-online-the-best-and-worst-ways-to-work-from-home/
http://www.inquisitr.com/2320929/make-money-online-the-best-and-worst-ways-to-work-from-home/#respondSun, 09 Aug 2015 14:19:33 +0000http://www.inquisitr.com/?p=2320929

There are many reasons to start a business in order to make money online. Unlike brick and mortar businesses that often require the presence of the business owner and employees, an online business allows the small business owner to automate many of the processes to run the business. Tasks that cannot be automated may be outsourced to other firms or contractors anywhere in the world saving the business owner a lot of money.

As reported by the Inquisitr, Google offers many tools to help online business owners start their businesses and market for free. Tools include search engine optimization for websites as well as Google Pages and Google Hangouts.

Wafls is a time and location-based reminder app which is designed to notify you based upon your GPS coordinates. In short, this app can help prevent you from forgetting those favorite items on the grocery list. Can’t forget the waffles or the honey-do list, after all.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, another app startup called Track Track literally lets people track anything, from President Obama’s location to their vacation stops.

Wafls creator Cass Shields says he came up with this reminder app when he forgot to pick up some blueberry waffles from Safeway.

“The idea of this app came about with my then two-year-old daughter Kiah,” he explained. “I kept going to the grocery store and I would always forget the waffles. Waffles are like The Holy Grail in my house, specifically the blueberry Eggo ones. When I’d arrive home from the store Kiah would get upset that I forgot the waffles and this happened on several occasions.”